The invention relates to improvements in apparatus for making hot beverages, such as chocolate, coffee and tea. More particularly, the invention relates to improvements in apparatus of the type wherein an open-top container for temporary storage of a liquid (such as milk or fresh water) is carried by a housing and serves to dispense its contents at a desired rate so that the dispensed liquid can be heated prior to contacting an aromatic substance, for example, tea leaves, comminuted coffee beans or pulverulent chocolate. The invention will be described with reference to a coffee making apparatus but it is to be understood that the invention can be embodied with equal or similar advantage in apparatus for making tea or other hot beverages.
It is known to provide a coffee making apparatus with a hollow housing which serves to confine an electric water heater and many other components of electric circuitry. The housing further serves as a support or includes a container for cold fresh water which is caused to flow through the heating unit to be heated to proper temperature prior to contacting comminuted coffee beans in a filter holder. The latter can be mounted on the housing or is placed on top of a coffee pot which gathers freshly brewed coffee and rests on a heater or warming plate so that the supply of freshly brewed coffee is maintained at an optimum temperature. Coffee brewing apparatus wherein the filter holder is supported by the housing are manufactured by the assignee of the present application in a variety of forms and sizes and include those known as "Coffee Time", "Coffee Aroma", "Euro/Brew Aroma" and "Euro/Brew Signal". The assignee of the present application further produces a variety of apparatus wherein the filter holder is placed directly on top of the coffee pot. Certain apparatus of such character are known as "Brewmaster", "Brewmaster II" and "Brewmaster Jr.".
As a rule, the container of a coffee making apparatus has an open top which can be closed by a pivotable or otherwise movable lid and is exposed prior to refilling the container whenever the supply of liquid in the container is exhausted or nearly exhausted. The container is reinforced in the region of the open top. Such reinforcement forms an integral part of the container and can constitute an outwardly extending portion of the container wall in the region of the open top. The outwardly extending portion resembles a flange which can be disposed at right angles to the adjacent major portion of the container wall or is curved to be provided with a convex upper side. A drawback of such containers is that they are rather expensive, mainly because they must be produced in complex forms. Moreover, an integral reinforcement is satisfactory only if the wall of the container is relatively thick. In other words, the container must be heavy because its wall thickness cannot be reduced at will without unduly weakening the reinforcing flange around its open top.
It was further proposed to install a separately produced closure or lid in a support which is placed on top of the container in a coffee brewing apparatus. The support is separable from the container and the lid is separable from the support.